NAFSA Cohosts Congressional Briefing on Visa Policy

On March 22, NAFSA, along with several academic, business, and exchange organizations, hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, urging Congress to undertake additional reforms of current U.S. visa and entry policies. Moderated by NAFSA's Associate Executive Director for Public Policy, Victor Johnson, panelists included Dr. James Carafano, assistant director of the Kathyrn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies, the Heritage Foundation; Michael McCarry, executive director of the Alliance for International Educational and Cultural Exchange; and William Reinsch, president of the National Foreign Trade Council, Inc. Panelists shared their concerns about the current state of visa and entry policies, noting that growing numbers of academic and business travelers are increasingly opting to travel to countries other than the United States in order to avoid the arduous and uncertain application and entry process. This briefing follows the release in late January by the abovementioned organizations of a set of specific recommendations for improving visa and entry policies for international academic, business, and scientific visitors.

NAFSA distributed the following materials at the event: